Seals for attachment to fabrics



Jan. 5, 1960 L. G. STANLEY 2,919,503.

Y SEALS FOR ATTACHMENT TO mamas Filed Aug. 4, 1958 z i l 5 1 g 4 4 r 4 I I f a ATTORNE Y6 Leonard 'Grosvenor Stanley, Walsall, England, assignor to Alfred Stanley & Sons Limited, Walsall, England, a

'British company Application August 4, 1958, Serial No. 752,959

2 Claims. (Cl. 40-21) This invention relates to seals of the kind commercially known as cloth seals which are employed by manufacturers of or dealers in fabrics for attachment to lengths or rolls of fabric to distinguish for example the source, character or quality of the cloth or for bearing other data relative to the cloth.

Two examples of cloth seals of the kind to which the present invention is more specifically directed are described in the complete specifications of British Letters Patent Nos. 733,477 and 790,307. In these examples the seal takes the form of a plastic tablet or tag which is adapted to be connected with the ends of a separate length of tape after the tape has been looped through a selvedge of the cloth by threading the tape ends through an apertured bridge like integral part of the tablet in which position the tape is permanently united with the tablet and with a collar mounted about the said bridge part and tape, by the application to these parts of a few drops of a solvent for the particular type of plastic used so that the seal will be irreparably damaged when removed from the cloth.

It is found in use that the aforesaid seals suifer the disadvantage that their attachment to the cloth entails cutting a length of tape and furnishing a hole in the selvedge of the cloth to permit the tape being looped therethrough prior to the engagement of the two ends of the tape with the bridge and collar of the tablet. The present invention has for its object to provide a modified cloth seal of the aforesaid type which is adapted for more convenient attachment to the cloth.

The present invention consists of a cloth seal comprising in combination a plastic tag, an apertured bridge-like integral part provided on the tag, a length of flexible tape one end whereof is permanently mounted on the said bridge part, a stiff tab attached to the free end of the tape and adapted to pierce a hole in the cloth for the passage therethrough of its attached tape, and a collar adapted to surround and grip both the said bridge part and the tape after the free end of the tape has been looped through the bridge aperture to admit of the permanent bonding together of the collar, bridge and tape by the application of a solvent or adhesive to these parts.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 represents in elevation a cloth seal incorporating the improvements constituting the invention,

Figure 2 illustrates the first stage in the operation of securing the seal seen in Figure 1 to a piece of cloth,

Figure 3 is a similar view to Figure 2 representing the second stage in the assembly operation, and

Figure 4 is a transverse section of the seal as finally secured to the cloth.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings the tag 5 which is to bear data identified with a particular cloth is moulded from a thermoplastic material such as for example cellulose acetate and is formed With an integral bridge-like part protruding from one edge United States Patent 0 'ice of the tag and furnishing an aperture for receiving the tape.

To the central or intermediate limb 6a of the bridge piece is permanently connected one end of a flexible linen tape 7, the connection being conveniently made by looping the end of the tape through the bridge and securing adjacent parts of the tape of each side of the bridge and to each other by an adhesive.

The remaining or free end of the linen tape 7 is furnished with a stiff metal tab 8 which is crimped about the tape and is formed with a pointed end 8a to admit of the ready piercing of the cloth 9 and the threading of the linen tape through the hole 9a thus made in the cloth as seen in Figure 2 in one continuous operation.

After the tape has been looped through a selvedge of the cloth in the aforesaid manner the tab 8 and an adjoining part of the tape is threaded through the aperture formed in the bridge part of the tablet as seen in Figure 3 and is gripped about the bridge by a collar 10 moulded from a thermo-plastic material of the kind employed for moulding the tablet. As disclosed in British patent specification No. 733,477 the collar may consist of a separate integer which is mounted about the bridge part of the tag after the tape has been threaded through the collar both prior to and after inserting the tape through the cloth and prior to threading the free end of the tape through the bridge. More conveniently however the collar 10 is captively mounted upon the bridge part 6 of the tag as disclosed in the British patent specification No. 790,307 and shown in the drawings accompanying the present specification by means of small projections 612 provided on the side limbs of the bridge above the collar. In the latter case the collar 10 is slid outwardly along the bridge in order to encircle and grip the looped parts of the tape 7 about the central limb 6a of the bridge. With the collar in this position the excess length 7a (Figure 3) of the tape carrying the tab is severed and a few spots of solvent, for example acetone in the case of a cellulose acetate tablet and collar, are applied to the tape in the vicinity of the collar and bridge whereby the plastic of Which the bridge and collar are composed is caused to partially dissolve and to penetrate into the interstices of the tape so as to provide a permanent bond between the tablet, collar and tape when the solvent has evaporated and the plastic has hardened, with the result that the cloth seal cannot be fraudulently exchanged between two pieces of cloth Without irreparable damage to the seal.

In the case of a seal wherein the tag and collar are composed of a plastic material of a kind which is resistant to solvent action, say for example phenolformaldehyde resin or polythene, a suitable adhesive may be employed to effect the final bonding of the component parts of the seal.

I claim:

1. A cloth seal comprising in combination a plastic tag, an apertured bridge-like integral part provided on the tag, a length of tape one end whereof is permanently mounted on the said bridge part, a tab attached to the free end of the tape and formed at its end to pierce a hole in the cloth for the passage therethrough of its attached tape, and a collar adapted to surround and grip both the said bridge part and the tape after the free end of the tape has been looped through the bridge aperture to admit of the permanent bonding together of the collar, bridge and tape by the application of a solvent or adhesive to these parts.

2. A cloth seal comprising in combination a plastic tag, an apertured bridge-like integral part provided on said tag, projections on opposite sides of said bridge part, a collar captively mounted on said bridge part by said projections, a length of tape one end whereof is perma- 3 4 nently mounted on said bridge part, a tab attached to References Cited in the file of this patent the free end of the tape and formed to pierce a hole in 4 the cloth for the passage therethrough of its attached UNITED STATES PATENTS tape, said collar being adapted to surround and grip both 1,254,021 Behrman Jan. 22, 1918 the said bridge part and the tape after the free end of 5 2 517 376 A t t A 1 1 5 the tape has been looped through the bridge aperture to I Z 9 0 admit of the permanent bonding together of the collar, FOREIGN PATENTS bridge part and tape by the application of a solvent or adhesive to these parts. 733,477 Great Britain July 13, 1955 

